


my kind of planet

by cptainmarvel



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbians in Space, dogs in outer space, i promise this isn't a crack fic, labradors on distant planets, thasmin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 05:52:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17197748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cptainmarvel/pseuds/cptainmarvel
Summary: in which the doctor takes team TARDIS™ to a very different kind of planet





	my kind of planet

**Author's Note:**

> again, i'm thasmin trash

"Welcome to Arcadia," the Doctor announced, arms open wide as she gestured around her. She span on her heel, turning back to take in the reactions of her friends gleefully.

"Whoa," Ryan gasped, eyes wide. Yaz let out a laugh of disbelief. 

"Origin of fairy tales, they call it. Vast oceans, towers of stone and silver, bells at dawn and bells at dusk. Home to artists, writers, poets and musicians. And overly friendly dogs," the Doctor grinned, crouching down to stroke a Labrador that was pawing at her leg.

"Dogs?" Graham echoed, frowning. "They have dogs in space?"

"Course they do, Graham," the Doctor stood back up, gazing at her friends. Yaz chuckled as the dog jumped up at her, happy to give it the attention it wanted. "Dogs end up everywhere. You lot bring them when you emigrate, catch the attention of other races, so they spread. Not even aliens can resist a Labrador."

The dog padded away from them, apparently satisfied with its treatment. A group of children were happy to play with it, offering it treats from a basket one held. They giggled as they petted it, clapping as it performed tricks. As they walked down the path, the Doctor had an extra spring in her step.

The TARDIS had landed in what looked like the town centre. People strolled down the glowing, cobbled street, none of them in a hurry to be anywhere. Chatter and laughter filled the air -  nobody seemed anxious or stressed.

Cute little buildings with red roofs were squashed up against each other, holding a whimsical kind of charm. Bookstores and cafes were in abundance everywhere and people sat outside at small tables, sipping oddly coloured beverages.

"It's beautiful here," Yaz sighed, grinning as she looked around. The Doctor turned back to smile at her; she was always happy to be able to show her friends amazing new worlds, especially if it meant she got to see Yaz's smile.

The two suns beamed down at them, casting a warm glow over everything. Little sailboats went by on the water that was as blue as heartbreak, bubbles and bees floating merrily through the air. In the distance were luscious green hills. They were littered with more buildings, and, right at the top, a gleaming, massive castle. It was white-bricked, with blue turrets that seemed to scrape the skies.

"Wait a minute," Ryan frowned. "Where's all the blokes?"

The Doctor turned to face him, sighing. "It's the thirty-first century, Ryan. Society's moved on, found other ways of doing things. The world doesn't revolve around men anymore. This place is about eighty-six percent female."

 _My kind of planet,_ Yaz thought to herself as a green-skinned alien girl moved past her, giving her a flirtatious wave. She smiled back at her, unaware that the Doctor was watching the alien carefully, a calculating look in her eye.

"So who lives up there, then? In that massive palace?" Graham asked, pointing to the hills. "They have a royal family here, too?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Sort of. Queen Azina the third. Known for her warmth and hospitality, among other things. The citizens here all love her. Why wouldn't they? Voted the fourth greatest ruler in this quadrant."

"Not bad," Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Can we pay her a visit?"

"Maybe later," the Doctor told his. She stopped suddenly, grabbing a basket of some glowing blue, squishy spheres. "Here, try these," she grinned, handing them to her friends. They took them hesitantly.

"What is it?" Ryan sniffed it, making an odd face. "Smells like bad perfume."

"Exotic fruit, sort of. Just try it," she encouraged them.

"Urgh, this is disgusting," Yaz gagged, spitting the fruit back out. The Doctor laughed as Ryan did the same, throwing it into a bin close by.

"Graham, are you really eating it?" Ryan's jaw dropped as she turned to see his granddad still chewing, looking content.

"What?" he asked, looking at them in confusion. "It's good!"

"No! No, it isn't," Yaz laughed. "It's terrible! Stop eating it."

"Perhaps this will be more to your taste," said a silky voice.

She turned to find a blue-skinned woman smiling down at her. In her outstretched palm she held a bite-sized, pink cube. It looked like it was made of jelly.

"Is it safe?" Yaz questioned the Doctor. In response she pulled out her sonic screwdriver, giving it a quick scan before nodding.

"Should be."

"Alright," she grinned, happily taking it. Her eyes widened as she chewed, finding that it had a pleasant taste of honey and apples.

"That tastes _amazing_. I didn't know there was good alien food, you always make us try the disgusting stuff," she directed the last part at the Doctor, who looked offended. Ryan snickered.

"There are wonders hidden all across the universe, if one knows where to look," the blue alien smiled again. Her voice sounded like velvet.

"Yep, I'm sort of her universe-wonder tour guide, actually," the Doctor smiled tightly, throwing an arm around Yaz. Graham and Ryan exchanged a look.

"Eridiah Oseena," the lady introduced herself, ignoring the Time Lord.

"Yasmin Khan. My friends call me Yaz," she nodded.

"It's a pleasure, Yasmin," Eridiah took her hand, gently kissing the back of it. Ryan watched, his eyebrows raised. The Doctor scoffed. "Tell me, of which kingdom are you princess of?"

Yaz laughed, shaking her head. "I'm not a princess. I'm, uh, I have a job back home."

She was careful to not divulge the fact that she worked in law enforcement, unsure how the alien would react. On Earth she felt confident, at least, in the fact that her uniform gave her authority, but here, anything could go wrong.

"I see," she murmured. "You certainly possess the beauty of a royal."

"Oh. Well, thank you very much," she said sheepishly.

"So, places to be," the Doctor clapped her hands together, then began to usher her friends away. "I promised them a proper good day out, y'see."

"See you," Graham nodded, shuffling past Eridiah. Giving her a friendly wave goodbye, Ryan followed after him.

"A shame," Eridiah called after them. The Doctor sighed in exasperation, but turned to face her. "I would have liked to show you the Zabine Gardens, Yasmin Khan."

"Oh, she _fancies_ her," Ryan muttered.

"Why can't you?" Yaz frowned. Eridiah's gaze turned to the Doctor, who looked torn. "Can I go with her, Doctor? I'll be careful, promise."

"Fine," the Doctor said after a moment, unable to say no to Yaz. It was a weakness of hers, she'd discovered. "Just - don't get lost! And keep your phone switched on. We'll come and find you later."

"I'll be good," she told her. Eridiah's smile grew wider as she linked hands with Yaz, beginning to lead her away. "See you later!"

"D'you think that was a good idea?" the Doctor voiced her worries to her friends. "We don't know anything about Eridiah," she said her name almost scornfully.

"What's the matter? Don't you trust Yaz?" Ryan asked, nudging her slightly.

"It's not her I don't trust," she said darkly. Graham raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure she'll be alright. This is one of the friendliest planets I've ever visited," the Doctor snapped out of it, pushing her concerns away. "Right! Come on. Just round that corner is a psychic cafe. It's brilliant, you'll love it. No menus - the place reads your _mind_."

The Doctor turned back as she hurried them along, spotting Yaz’s head of dark hair disappear around the corner. Frowning, she tried to convince herself that she would be fine, but she couldn't quite shake the lingering feeling that something was off.

***

The Zabine Gardens, it turned out, were more beautiful than any type of garden Yaz had ever seen on Earth. Purple trees as tall as the sky were lined up, creating a pathway. They arched and joined at their canopy, giving the impression that this grove was cut off from everything else. Flowers that looked like red daffodils were blowing bubbles through the air. Butterflies floated lazily after them, and Yaz suspected that the ones in the town centre had come from here.

"Wow," she breathed, wide-eyed. "This place is _amazing_."

"I knew you would like it," Eridiah smiled.

Under their feet was lush green grass, wildflowers of every colour of the rainbow blooming happily from it. From somewhere was the sound of a gentle waterfall running, accompanied by what sounded like a choir harmonising. Yaz frowned, looking around for singers, but there were none in sight.

"Who's singing?" she asked.

"What you hear is the sound of the _cantus flos_. The singing flower," Eridiah explained. She lead Yaz over to some blue flowers, each of them growing at different heights.

The volume of the music increased as they neared it. The flowers closer to the ground seemed to be producing the deeper notes, while the tallest a high-pitched melody.

Yaz laughed, shaking her head. "This place really is like a fairy tale."

Eridiah let go of her hand for a moment, moving to what looked like a patch of pastel-coloured daisies. She watched as she plucked a pink one from the ground, which seemed to bloom even more as she did. Its colour became more rich and vibrant, now more of a fuchsia pink than a pastel.

"A beautiful flower," she declared, coming to stand in front of Yaz. "For a beautiful girl."

She tucked the flower into her hair, then clutched her hands again. Yaz grinned, bowing her head shyly for a moment before looking back up. Eridiah had moved a little closer and she found herself almost pulled to her, like she was a magnet. It was intoxicating, making her heart pound against her ribs.

The memory of the Doctor placing a flower in her hair in India surfaced in her mind for a second, but as Eridiah beamed it seemed to simply fade away.

"Thank you," she told her, smiling sweetly.

"Come," Eridiah said, leading Yaz along the path. "There is much to see."

***

The Doctor had been right about the psychic cafe. Graham and Ryan had been thrilled by it. Within a minute of being seated (outside, with a view of a magnificent fountain), they'd been served their food. Maybe 'served' wasn't the best word for it. The food had appeared in front of them in seconds, without them having to put a thought to it.

"This is amazing," Graham declared, through a mouthful of shepherd's pie. "Who'd of thought it, eh? Thirty-first century, they've got pie in space!"

Ryan began a conversation with him that the Doctor tuned out, her mind elsewhere. A pile of custard creams had appeared when she sat down but she barely touched them, unable to focus on anything else but whether or not Yaz was safe. She wished she'd insisted that she'd stay by her side, instead of going off with Eridiah. The Doctor was sure Yaz would have been enjoying this, too.

"Doctor? Did you hear us?" Ryan’s voice brought her back to reality. "We were saying we'd seen some clothes shops up the road. Can we go and have a look?"

"Yeah, of course," the Doctor nodded. "You go ahead, I'll catch up once I've paid for this lot."

They hurried off, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. The Doctor liked seeing her friends excited about the alien worlds she brought them to - it was one of the reasons she travelled with others. But her every instinct was telling her to get her friends off this planet, away from whatever was lurking.

Because something _was_ lurking, the Doctor convinced herself as she went to the till to pay. Years of Time Lord experience was enough to know that. Everything here was so magical, and she knew all too well that the seemingly magical things often ended in tears. Once she'd paid (using the psychic paper as a bank card) she made her way outside, sitting on the edge of the fountain.

Huffing, the Doctor pulled out her sonic, playing with it subconsciously. It glowed yellow and she threw and caught it in the air a couple of times before putting it away, resting her head on her hand. Maybe she was just being silly. Silly old Doctor, so used to a war that she tricked herself into thinking there was one everywhere she went.

Maybe.

"Miss?" came a girl's voice. The Doctor frowned, sitting up straight. "Miss?"

"Hello?" she jumped to her feet, looking around and seeing nobody. "Who's there? Don't think I won't find you, I was Hide and Seek champion of the year 3022. Hid for seven days straight. I know all the best spots."

The voice came again. "Over here."

The Doctor finally spotted a little girl with flowing, blonde hair, hiding around the side of a building. She vaguely recognised her from the town square, one of the children who'd been playing with the dog.

"Hello," she greeted her, crouching to her height. "I'm the Doctor. What's your name?"

"Liziah," she told her. "I came to warn you. Your friend is in terrible danger."

The Doctor's face became stony. "You mean Yaz?"

"I saw her, in the square. She went with the blue lady, didn't she?" Liziah looked worried. "Those who go with them never come back."

"Why? What happens to them?" she demanded.

"I know not," she shook her head. "They simply vanish. You must find your friend. I fear it may already be too late."

The Doctor swallowed, feeling her hearts racing. "Do you know where she is? Where do they take people?"

"I'm sorry. I can't be of anymore help," Liziah told her. "All I know is that you must find her. Before it's too late."

"Thank you," the Doctor told her earnestly. " _Thank you._ "

And then she took off running, the soles of her boots slapping against the ground. She raced up the steps to the clothes shop, bursting in and startling several customers inside. For a moment she couldn't see her friends, and she feared they were gone too. But then they were there, their faces concerned, Graham's hand on her shoulder.

"Doctor, what's going on?"

"It's Yaz. She's in trouble. We've got to go, now."

***

"Close your eyes," Eridiah instructed Yaz. They were sitting at the side of a pond, the waters perfectly warm and crystal clear. Yaz had taken off her trainers and socks, dipping her feet in. "Let the waters clear your mind."

She did as she was told. It felt almost like a weight being lifted off her shoulders. All of her remaining worries and apprehensions had disappeared; now, she was weightless.

"Wow," Yaz murmured.

"Open your eyes," she whispered. She was so close that their noses almost touched. Eridiah raised her hands, hovering gently over Yaz’s face. "I can create a psychic link with you, just for a moment. Do I have your permission?"

"Of course," she replied. What could go wrong? Forming a psychic link with this alien seemed like a _brilliant_ idea.

Eridiah placed her fingers on Yaz’s temples, looking intensely into her eyes. A fog descended onto her mind. In a way she felt almost drunk, welcoming the hazy feeling creeping into her head. She smiled easily.

"There," Eridiah grinned back. Her smile seemed even more dazzling.

"How'd you do that?" she asked. Her eyes felt heavy and she blinked slowly.

"I'm an empath," she explained. "I can create emotions, read emotions...change emotions."

Yaz nodded, finding herself becoming dizzy as she did. She swayed and Eridiah steadied her, gently helping her to lie down, head resting on her lap.

"Whoa," she mumbled. She struggled to keep her eyes open, but it didn't panic her; somehow she felt even more relaxed.

The sun skipped over the surface of the water, waving and sparkling at her. The light made it look like thousands of diamonds were glittering.

"Relax," Eridiah told Yaz, running her fingers through her hair. The flower she’d placed there before dislodged itself, floating out across the pond. "Just relax."

***

"Doctor, where are we going?" Ryan grabbed onto her arm and stopped her going anywhere else. She'd led them back into the town square and was looking around, apparently unsure of what to do.

"Do you have a plan? Us walking about in circles isn't going to help Yaz ," Graham told her.

"Right," the Doctor nodded. "You're right. Sorry, I'm just..."

Ryan nodded. "We know. It's okay, but we need to focus."

"Where did that blue woman say she was taking her?" Ryan frowned as he thought.

"The Zabine Gardens!" the Doctor exclaimed after a second. "Good lad! C'mon then, gang. Let's get a shift on."

***

The greens and blues of the Gardens were more vibrant than before. From somewhere Yaz could still hear the singing flowers, and the stream of the waterfall crashing against rocks.

"Free your mind," Eridiah was murmuring. She sounded a million miles away. "Free your mind."

"Let her go, Eridiah!" came a yell. It sounded like the Doctor, but the thought was quickly pushed to the back of Yaz’s mind.

"Or what, Time Lord?" Eridiah hissed, rising to her feet. She stood in front of Yaz defensively, leaving the team unable to get to her.

"You know of me, then?" the Doctor's eyes narrowed. Ryan had a deep frown on his face, her mind running wild with half-formed plans on how to get to Yaz. She didn't seem to be moving, which worried him.

Eridiah scoffed. "The Oncoming Storm. That's what they call you, isn't it? You don't seem like a threat to me, Doctor."

"You haven't seen her when she's angry," Ryan told her.

"I don't want to have to threaten you, Eridiah. But I'm giving you a choice. Leave this world, and these people, alone. Or you'll have me to answer to."

Eridiah let out a high pitched cackle, throwing her head back as she made no attempt to control her mirth. Graham glared at her, feeling anger swell in his chest.

"You don't scare me, Doctor."

"What have you done to Yaz? What do you want with her?" the Doctor asked, tilting her head to one side. Her face did a good job at pretending she wasn’t absolutely terrified, anxiety rising at the thought of losing another friend, at the thought of losing Yaz, above all else.

"My people take human beings as sacrifices. They are our life source," Eridiah explained, revelling in the look of fury that appeared on her face. “Their dreams, their ideas, we take it all. Leave them as empty shells.”

"You live because you suck the life out of humans?" Graham looked disgusted. "That's no way to live at all."

"She’s a Juridian. Should've known. A race of empaths, with high level psychic abilities. You use your powers to lure people to their deaths. Am I right?" the Doctor inquired.

“Correct, Time Lord,” Eridiah said, with a tiny inclination of her head. “We lower the defenses of the mind. The inhibitions, the anxieties, the reserve...we remove it all. It leaves the mind unguarded, and then we feast.”

As she spoke, the Doctor’s jaw clenched in anger. The way the alien seemed almost in awe of her plan made her feel sick to her stomach.

“Not today, Eridiah,” she said firmly, managing to speak despite her terror. In her head she tried formulating a plan, to treat this like any other bad guy she’d faced, as if she didn’t know the person she was saving. But the thought of Yaz lying there, oblivious to the danger around her, clouded her mind, and she couldn’t think straight.

“The process has already started,” Eridiah shook her head with a tinkling laugh. “You have no hope of saving your friend.”

“Doctor, there’s gotta be something we can do,” Ryan turned to her, desperation on his face.

“I’m thinking,” the Doctor told him, eyes wide and lips parted. Her gaze shifted to the ground as she considered her options, but she looked somewhere else, as if she wasn’t really seeing what she was focusing on. And then it happened, like it always did: that spark of an idea in her eyes, her head snapping up as the solution finally swam to the forefront of her mind. “I’ve got it!”

“What do we do?” Graham asked, gesturing to Yasmin, who still lay on the ground, unmoving.

“The Juridians,” she turned to him, the start of a smile forming on her face. “They have one key weakness, I can’t _believe_ I didn’t think of that first.”

“What? What is it?!”

“You lot,” the Doctor turned to Eridiah, reaching inside her coat. “I’ve just remembered the problem with you. Apart from the desire to murder and feast upon minds, which is obvious, you have one very specific issue.”

“And what is that, Doctor?” Eridiah looked, for the first time, nervous.

“You _really_ can’t stand high-pitched noises.”

With that she pulled the sonic out from its pocket, brandishing it high in the air. A second later it was emitting a high-pitched, screechy buzzing sound, one that made Ryan and Graham cover their ears, letting out yells of pain. Eridiah’s purple eyes widened and she reached out a hand to stop the Doctor, but it was too late.

“No!” she screamed, a pained, strangled kind of thing, and the last thing any of them saw of her was the fury on her face, and the frightened look in her eyes, before she seemed to disintegrate with a loud _‘boom’_. The Doctor lowered her screwdriver, gazing at the spot where Eridiah had stood. Nothing remained now.

“You killed her!” Ryan exclaimed, rising to his feet once the noise of the sonic came to an end. His ears still rang, and he considered the prospect of lasting ear damage.

“Not killed,” the Doctor shook her head as she began moving towards Yaz, who remained at the waterfront. “Scattered. She’ll float around the galaxy for a bit as atoms, before she reforms.”

“When you say ‘for a bit’...” Graham frowned.

“Maybe for the next fifty years or so,” the Doctor told him simply. There was a harshness in her voice which her friends didn’t enjoy hearing. She ignored their looks, crouching down next to Yaz and beginning to check her over. With a sigh of relief she found that she still had a pulse, and she was breathing.

“Will she be alright?” Ryan asked, concerned for his friend again.

“Should be,” the Doctor nodded. As she observed Yaz, a sad kind of look formed on her face. “Let’s get her back to the TARDIS.”

***

The sound of the TARDIS engines and a pounding headache greeted Yaz when she finally woke. Sucking in a pained breath through her teeth, she slowly sat up, hand rising to her head as if to sooth the pain.

“Careful,” came the Doctor’s voice, and she placed a hand on Yaz’s back to guide her. “You’ve been asleep for a while.”

“What happened?” Yaz asked, voice hoarse as she opened her eyes, and was met with the Doctor’s concerned face. “We were on Arcadia.”

“Turned out the girl who fancied you was a mind-reading murderer,” Ryan explained bluntly. Yaz looked a little more than confused as she turned to face him. He simply shrugged from where he leaned against one of the amber columns near the console.

“ _Ryan_ ,” Graham tutted, swatting his arm. “We said we’d explain it slowly.”

Yaz looked back at the Doctor for answers, but she only nodded, grimacing.

“He’s basically right,” she told her. “Eridiah was a Juridian. They’re a race of empaths. They use their powers to absorb the energy from minds. All the ideas, creativity, memories...gone.” She said the last part with a regretful look towards Yaz. “I shouldn’t have let you go with her.”

“It’s not your fault,” Yaz shook her head. Immediately she regretted the action, finding that it made the pounding in her head worse. “I was the one who wanted to go with her. You couldn’t have known what was gonna happen.”

“I should have realised. I should have known what she was, straight away.”

“Stop it. It’s not your fault.”

“But -”

“ _No,_ Doctor,” Yaz said sternly. “Now leave it.”

There was a pause as the Doctor considered her, fighting within herself.

“Alright,” she finally relented. “As long as you promise you’re okay. No memory loss, except from the past two hours or so? You seem to remember who you are, and who we are, so that’s good.”

“I’m fine. Just feel a bit sick,” Yaz told her.

“That’ll be the after effects of whatever Eridiah did. It’ll wear off soon,” the Doctor frowned apologetically.

She watched Yaz carefully, before pulling her into a hug. The dark-haired girl let out a small _‘oof!’_ in surprise, but hugged her back tightly, a small smile on her face. “Never go anywhere with an alien girl again.”

“Except you?” Yaz chuckled.

“Except me.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading, i hope u enjoyed!  
> i based the planet arcadia here off arcadia (battleworld) in marvel comics, just without a-force  
> i feel like i need to say that so i don't get sued or #called #out or something
> 
> please leave kudos/comments if u like! <3


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